Career and Education Opportunities for Grounds Foremen in Stockton, California

There is a wide variety of career and education opportunities for grounds foremen in the Stockton, California area. About 22,300 people are currently employed as grounds foremen in California. By 2016, this is expected to grow 16% to 25,800 people employed. This is better than the nation as a whole, where employment opportunities for grounds foremen are expected to grow by about 14.9%. Grounds foremen generally plan, organize, direct, or coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities, such as planting and maintaining ornamental trees, shrubs, and lawns, and applying fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals, according to contract specifications.

Income for grounds foremen is about $21 hourly or $44,330 per year on average in California. Nationally, their income is about $19 hourly or $39,920 annually. Earnings for grounds foremen are better than earnings in the general category of Building Maintenance in California and better than general Building Maintenance category earnings nationally.

There are twenty-two schools of higher education in the Stockton area, including two within twenty-five miles of Stockton where you can get a degree to start your career as a grounds foreman. The most common level of education for grounds foremen is a high school diploma or GED. It will take only a short time to learn to be a grounds foreman if you already have a high school diploma.

CAREER DESCRIPTION: Grounds Foreman

Grounds Foreman video from the State of New Jersey Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development

In general, grounds foremen plan, organize, direct, or coordinate activities of workers engaged in landscaping or groundskeeping activities, such as planting and maintaining ornamental trees, shrubs, and lawns, and applying fertilizers, pesticides, and other chemicals, according to contract specifications. They also may also coordinate activities of workers engaged in terracing hillsides, building retaining walls, constructing pathways, and similar activities in following a landscape design plan.

Grounds foremen furnish staff with assistance in performing duties as needed to meet deadlines. They also recommend changes in working conditions or machinery use, so as to increase crew efficiency. Equally important, grounds foremen have to order the performance of corrective work when problems occur, and recommend procedural changes to avoid such problems. They are often called upon to talk with other supervisors to direct work efforts with those of other departments or units. They are expected to establish and enforce operating procedures and work standards that will insure adequate performance and personnel safety. Finally, grounds foremen perform administrative duties such as authorizing leaves and processing time sheets.

Every day, grounds foremen are expected to be able to listen to and understand others in meetings. They need to articulate ideas and problems.

It is important for grounds foremen to maintain required records such as personnel data and project records. They are often called upon to schedule work for crews depending on work priorities, crew and machinery availability, and weather conditions. They also direct and assist staff working on the maintenance and up keep machinery such as power tools and motorized machinery. They are sometimes expected to direct or perform mixing and application of fertilizers and fungicides. Somewhat less frequently, grounds foremen are also expected to furnish staff with assistance in performing duties as needed to meet deadlines.

They also have to be able to perform administrative duties such as authorizing leaves and processing time sheets and ready and maintain required records such as work activity and personnel reports. And finally, they sometimes have to inspect contracts or work assignments to establish service and workforce requirements for jobs.

Like many other jobs, grounds foremen must be reliable and believe in cooperation and coordination.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES: Grounds Foreman Training

Modesto Junior College - Modesto, CA

Modesto Junior College, 435 College Ave, Modesto, CA 95350-5800. Modesto Junior College is a large college located in Modesto, California. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 20,000 students. Modesto Junior College has a two to four year program in Landscaping and Groundskeeping.

San Joaquin Delta College - Stockton, CA

San Joaquin Delta College, 5151 Pacific Ave, Stockton, CA 95207. San Joaquin Delta College is a large college located in Stockton, California. It is a public school with primarily 2-year programs and has 20,480 students. San Joaquin Delta College has 2 areas of study related to Grounds Foreman. They are:

Landscaping and Groundskeeping, one to two year and two to four year which graduated one and zero students respectively in 2008.

Turf and Turfgrass Management, two to four year.

CERTIFICATIONS

Certified Desert Landscaper:
The Desert Botanical Garden is pleased to offer the Desert Landscaper Certification Program for over ten years.

LOCATION INFORMATION: Stockton, California

Stockton, California photo by Ron Reiring

Stockton is situated in San Joaquin County, California. It has a population of over 287,037, which has grown by 17.7% over the last ten years. The cost of living index in Stockton, 91, is below the national average. New single-family homes in Stockton cost $262,500 on average, which is well below the state average. In 2008, one hundred sixty-four new homes were built in Stockton, down from six hundred seventeen the previous year.

The top three industries for women in Stockton are health care, educational services, and accommodation and food services. For men, it is construction, agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and public administration. The average travel time to work is about 27 minutes. More than 15.4% of Stockton residents have a bachelor's degree, which is lower than the state average. The percentage of residents with a graduate degree, 4.9%, is lower than the state average.

The unemployment rate in Stockton is 19.4%, which is greater than California's average of 12.3%.

The percentage of Stockton residents that are affiliated with a religious congregation, 38.2%, is less than both the national and state average. Peniel Ministries for Stockton Neighborhood Center, Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church and Kingdom Hall of Jehovahs Witnesses are among the churches located in Stockton. The largest religious groups are the Catholic Church, the LDS (Mormon) Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Stockton is home to the Calaveras Landing and the Stockton Country Club as well as Atherton Park and Williams Brotherhood Park. Shopping malls in the area include Saint Marks Plaza Shopping Center, Hammer Ranch Shopping Center and Weberstown Shopping Center. Visitors to Stockton can choose from Best Western Inn, Best Value Inn and Acorn Inn for temporary stays in the area.